St Katherine Cree

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St Katherine Cree

St Katharine Cree is a Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
church in the Aldgate ward

Aldgate

Aldgate was the easternmost gateway through London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the East End of London. Aldgate gives its name to a ward of the City....
of the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a geographically small city status in the United Kingdom within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which, along with Westminster, the modern conurbation grew....
, located on Leadenhall Street

Leadenhall Street

Leadenhall Street is a major street in the City of London.It runs from Cornhill, London to Aldgate . Aldgate Pump is at the junction with Aldgate....
near Leadenhall Market

Leadenhall Market

Leadenhall Market is a covered market in the City of London, located in Gracechurch Street.The market dates back to the fourteenth century. It is open from 07:00-late Monday to Friday, and sells fresh food; among the vendors there are cheesemongers, butchers and florists....
.
parish served by the church is an extremely ancient one; it existed as early as 1108, when it was served by the Augustinian Holy Trinity Priory

Holy Trinity Priory

The Holy Trinity Priory was a priory of Augustine of Hippo Canon founded around 1108 by Queen Maud of Scotland, wife of King Henry I of England near Aldgate in London....
, Aldgate, which was also known as Christ Church, which was founded by Maud, queen at the time of King Henry I

Henry I of England

Henry I was the fourth son of William I the Conqueror. He succeeded his elder brother William II of England as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106....
The site of the present church was originally the priory's churchyard and it is possible that the church had its origins in a cemetery chapel.

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St Katharine Cree is a Church of England

Church of England

Aldgate

City of London

Leadenhall Street

Leadenhall Street is a major street in the City of London.It runs from Cornhill, London to Aldgate . Aldgate Pump is at the junction with Aldgate....
near Leadenhall Market

Leadenhall Market

History

The parish served by the church is an extremely ancient one; it existed as early as 1108, when it was served by the Augustinian Holy Trinity Priory

Holy Trinity Priory

Henry I of England

Prior

Prior is a title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses....
partially resolved the problem in 1280 with the foundation of St Katharine Cree as a separate church for the use of the parishioners. It took its name from the priory - "Cree" is a corrupted abbreviation of "Christ Church". It was initially served by a canon

Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest who is a member of certain bodies of the Christianity clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule .Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergyhouse or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct or close of a cathedral and ordering his life according to the orders or rules of the church....
appointed by the prior but this did not prove satisfactory either, in 1414 the church was established as a full parish in its own right, which it has remained ever since.

The present church dates from 1631, with only the tower (dating to 1504) retained from the previous building. It was consecrated by William Laud

William Laud

Archbishop William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. He pursued a High Church course and opposed Radical Reformation of Puritanism....
in his capacity as Bishop of London

Bishop of London

The Bishop of London is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km? of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey....
; his vestments and the form of service that he used in the ceremony were later held against him in his trial and conviction for heresy

Heresy

Heresy is an introduced change to some system of belief, especially a religion, that conflicts with the previously established canon of that belief....
, when he was accused by Puritan

Puritan

A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of worship and doctrine, as well as personal and group pietism....
s of having displayed Catholic

Catholic

Catholic is an adjective derived from the Greek language adjective , meaning "whole" or "complete". In the context of Christianity ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages....
sympathies through his "bowings and cringings." He is commemorated by a chapel in the church. The church escaped the Great Fire of London

Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of London, England, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666....
in 1666 and suffered only minor damage in the London Blitz of the Second World War. However, structural problems required extensive restoration in 1962. It is used today as one of the City's Guild churches.

St Katharine Cree is regarded as one of the most significant churches of the Jacobean

Jacobean architecture

The Jacobean style is the name given to the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated....
period, a time when church-building was at a historically low ebb. It is the only Jacobean church to have survived in London. Unfortunately, the identity of its architect is unknown. It has a handsome if somewhat inconsistent interior, with a high nave

Nave

In Romanesque architecture and Gothic architecture Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and Church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar....
flanked by two arcades lined with Corinthian columns

Corinthian order

The Corinthian order is one of the Classical orders of Greece and Rome architecture, characterized by a slender Fluting column and an ornate capital decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls....
. The vaulted ceiling displays bosses bearing the arms of the City Livery Companies; this dates mostly from the restoration of 1962. The chancel

Chancel

"Chancel" is an architectural term for the space around the altar at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse....
possesses a fine rose window

Rose window

A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architecture and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery....
, reputedly modelled on the much larger rose window of Old St Paul's Cathedral (lost in the Great Fire). The stained glass

Stained glass

For the Blackford Oakes novel, see Stained Glass The term stained glass can refer to the material of coloured glass or the craft of working with it....
, depicting a catherine wheel

Catherine Wheel

Catherine Wheel were a four-piece alternative rock band from Great Yarmouth, England. The band was active from 1990 to 2000, experiencing fluctuating levels of commercial success, and embarking on many lengthy tours....
is original, dating from 1630, and the font likewise dates from around 1640.

Today the church is a Guild Church and has no parish, but chose some years ago to dedicate its ministry to the worlds of finance, commerce and industry. The Guild Vicar is also Rector of St Olave Hart Street

St Olave Hart Street

St Olave Hart Street is an Anglican church in the City of London, located on the corner of Hart Street and Seething Lane near Fenchurch Street railway station....
. The church's six bells were rung in the summer of 2007 for the first time since 1880 and in November 2007 an appeal was launched to raise £60,000 to restore the bells to full ringing order. It is the only tower in the City where the bells are rung from a ground floor ringing chamber. Both HSBC and Lloyds of London have pledged money towards the appeal. The church was designated a Grade I listed building

Listed building

A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance....
on 04 January 1950.

Notable people associated with the church

William Laud
William Laud

Archbishop William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645. He pursued a High Church course and opposed Radical Reformation of Puritanism....
, bishop and archbishop: consecrated church in 1631
Hans Holbein the Younger
Hans Holbein the Younger

Hans Holbein the Younger was a Germans artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century....
's grave (1543) has been claimed by both St Andrew Undershaft
St Andrew Undershaft

St Andrew Undershaft is a Church of England church located at St Mary Axe, in Aldgate of the City of London, near the Lloyd's Building. It is a rare example of a City church that has managed to escape both the Great Fire of London in 1666 and the Second World War bombing during the London Blitz of 1940-1941.....
church and by St Katharine Cree. St Katharine Cree's claim is stronger because the nearby abbey had been recently destroyed, while St Andrew Undershaft's graveyard was already full up.
Both Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell

Henry Purcell...
and George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel was an England Baroque music composer of Germany birth who is famous for his operas, oratorios, and concerto grosso. His life and music may justly be described as "cosmopolitan": he was born in Germany, trained in Italy, and spent most of his life in England....
played the organ at this church.
Sir Nicholas Throckmorton
Nicholas Throckmorton

Sir Nicholas Throckmorton was an England diplomacy and politician, who was an ambassador to France and played a key role in the relationship between Elizabeth I of England and Mary I of Scotland....
(d.1570) is buried in the church.

St Katherine Cree

History

Notable people associated with the church

See also

External links